


Blue Eyes and Yellow Jackets (AKA porch lights and tea revamp)

by emthefireybird



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Amanda (mentioned), Angst, Fluff, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Injury Recovery, M/M, PTSD, Secrets, Trust Issues, bad past, comforting dirk, dirk has past problems with the rowdies, hand holdiing, hand holding, maybe some kissing later, sad todd, the rowdy three (briefly), todd needs a hug and gets one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-07 21:46:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10370169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emthefireybird/pseuds/emthefireybird
Summary: Todd is a homeless street musician. He finds himself alone, hungry, and slightly damp. A sunny man appears and offers him a jacket and reassurance that he'll be okay.





	1. The kindness of a stranger

**Author's Note:**

> This is a revamp of Porchlights and Tea, but it doesn't follow the previous plot to a T. The premise is the same though. Expect the next chapter up in the next few days! :)

Light rain fell as Todd sat on the ground, cold, wet and hungry. His most prized possession, his guitar, leans against the wall beside him. Todd is used to days like these. Days that no one would be out on account of the weather, and he resents it. The only way Todd can feed himself is to play for the people on the street, but on days like this, there are no people to play to, so he sits. He looks up at the sky and watches the grey clouds shift slowly like curls of smoke. It’s been awhile since he used his second most prized possession, his razor blade, and he feels the urge tingle along his arm and up his neck. He runs an absent hand along the rough scars and sighs. Suddenly, his line of vision is intercepted by something bright red. Todd looks and finds it’s an umbrella, which is attached to a very tall man in a yellow jacket. “Hi!” Says the man, and Todd just stares at him. 

“...hey.” He replies reluctantly, his voice quiet and raspy from lack of use. The man looks at Todd oddly, as if he were his equal. As if he were an upstanding member of society. Todd supposes that’s his resting face.

“You look cold,” says the man cheerfully “here, take my jacket.” He insists before Todd can resist, setting down the umbrella and handing the yellow monstrosity to a surprised Todd. Todd takes it, too cold to complain. The man slides down the grimy alley wall to sit with him.

“Crummy weather, isn’t it.” The man signs, glaring up at the sky as if it were the cloud’s fault. Todd looks over the odd man. He has neat auburn hair and clear blue eyes,and is very skinny, even by Todd’s standards. He figures that if the man is a creep, he’d be able to fend him off. That is, unless he has his ugly yellow jacket laced with something… Todd sniffs it, and only finds the light smell of mint. Todd decides he likely got toothpaste on his jacket.

“Yeah… uh… is there something… you want?” Todd asks cautiously. The man turns to him with a smile, and Todd finds himself likening the man to the sun. Bright, warm, it suited him quite well.

“Not at all! Just some company, possibly a conversation.”

“Looks like you got what you came for.”

“Looks like I have!” Dirk agrees. They sit in silence for a few moments, both staring up at the sky sullenly. “So, tell me about yourself.” The sunshine of a man’s tone is light, casual. Todd finds he’s uneasy with how simple it is to trust him. With all his previous experience, trust only leads to hurt, nothing else. Todd tried to convince himself that this man was no different.

“Why? You obviously don’t care.” Tod picks at the lace of his worn shoes, not willing to look at the man’s expression. Just another person to hurt, another person to let down.

“If I don't care, why did I ask?” He has a point there. Todd sighs inwardly, letting his trigger response tumble from his cracked lips.

“Because you pity me.”

“Nonsense! I’m simply empathetic.” Todd scans The man’s face for a hint of sarcasm, a note of amusement, but finds none. He finds only a content (if not slightly worried) expression and brilliant blue eyes. Todd sighs. What bad could it really do to talk to the happy-go-lucky man?

“Tell me your name first.”

“Dirk Gently.”

“Really?” Dirk nods at him.

“I’m Todd.”

“It suits you,” smiles Dirk, and Todd can tell he means it. Todd takes a deep breath.

“I don’t know where to start.”

“Well, how did you end up like this?”

“What? Starving? Homeless? A guitarist? Sitting in an alleyway with a stranger?”

“I was thinking more the homeless part, though the other options are also interesting.”

“ It’s… rather hard to talk about. I haven’t really talked to anyone about it…”

“Well, now's your chance then!” Dirk chirps. Todd sighs at the chipper man, wondering what he’d done to deserve his company.

“My parents kicked me out when I was 14. It wasn’t their fault really… they were just, sad. My sister, Amanda, had been diagnosed with cancer. Doctors gave her months to live. My parents, well, they took it out on me. Long story short, I was out on the streets on my own. At first, all I did was beg, maybe shoplift every once in awhile, that was, until I was picked up by some guy in a black van- I, uh, ahem-” Todd cleared his throat loudly, tears pricking at his eyes “-after that. I joined some stupid band for a while we broke up… then it was just me, here, with a ratty denim jacket and a guitar.” As Todd finishes his story, h realizes there are tears running down his cheeks. He looks up from his clenched hands and finds the once sunny man staring at him with open pity. “Sorry… I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“No, no no no no. It’s fine. It’s- way more than fine. Tod…” Dirk stares at Todd in abject horror, seeming lost as to what to do. Todd looks back down at his hands and suddenly feels a gentle hand wiping the tear from his cheek. He looks up at Dirk and Dirk smiles, almost fondly. The taller man pulls Todd into a tight hug. Todd’s brain short circuits a moment, thinking back- “It’s okay, Todd. It’s okay. It’s- it’s going to be alright, okay? I’ll do whatever- I can help you.” Dirk murmurs into Todd’s ear, rubbing slow circles on his back. Even though the pre-designed alarm bells in Todd’s mind are going off, he feels inclined to believe him.

“Thank you.” He whispers into Dirk’s shoulder. Dirk pats his back lightly. They stay like this for a few moments, feeling more like a few centuries in both their minds. Finally, Dirk pulls back slightly. 

“Are you sure you're okay out here? Alone? Is there somewhere… anywhere?”

“No, I don't have anywhere,” Todd mumbles quietly.

“Why don't you come with me then?” memories race through Todd's mind, he begins shaking lightly, a fresh tear falls from his face to the muggy ground.

“I… can't.” Dirk gives him a worried look, but he doesn't ask why.

“Okay, if you can't come with me, at least keep my jacket for now. I'll come back tomorrow and check k you, okay?”

“Okay.” Todd agrees. Dark pulls him close one more time, then zips his jacket up to Todd's chin. Dirk stops for a second and places a hand on Todd’s shoulder, looking him in the eyes, the worried look still plastered on his face.

“Don't go anywhere, okay?” Dirk tells him, the cheerful facade back in place on his face.

“I won’t,” Todd replies, and he knows it's true. Where would he want to go when this kind man and his yellow jacket were here. Dirk scoops up his umbrella and stands, giving Todd a small wave as he rounds the coriander into the street. Todd smiles to himself, he can't wait for tomorrow.


	2. Splinters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todd finds himself in quite the predicament at the hand of four unnamed anarchists, he feels lost.

Todd cracks his eyes open as he hears a loud crash from the street. It has to be almost one am, though he doesn't know for sure. He wakes slightly confused by the fact that there is a strange yellow jacket wrapped around him, then he remembers Dirk and lets out a long sigh. He lets himself just lay there for a moment, thinking about the dream he’d just had. He couldn’t remember much, but he knew Dirk had been there, loud music thumping in his ears. He remembers flashing lights and dancing. What a dream that was. He pulls himself from his thoughts and shifts into a sitting position and peers out into the street. The crashing sounds are becoming louder, and as Todd watches he makes out four figures in the distance. They appear to be smashing car windows and causing overall havoc. The figures begin getting closer and Todd pulls back into the alley. He hears heavy booted footsteps come near and he tries not to breath. As they approach, he stays as quiet and still as he can. Suddenly there's an acoustic thump as his guitar, which had been standing perfectly fine all night, fell over. There's a holler and the footsteps come fast towards him. Todd just curls into himself, sitting in the fetal position. The three figures appear in the alley and the first picks up his guitar, inspecting it. “Piece of shit.” the figure grumbles, hefting it onto his shoulder before throwing it down with a loud crash. Todd feels a spark of hate light in his gut as he looks over at the splintered guitar. Another voice sounds.

“Hey! Ain't that Dirks jacket? How's he know Dirk?” The voice is higher than the other, but still in the range where if he had to guess, he’d say they were male.

“Let's find out.” Says yet another voice. Two of the figures approach him. He doesn't see the fourth figure anywhere. He assumes he must’ve miscounted. One moment Todd's sitting on the ground, then he's being lifted up by his collar and slammed against the wall. “Where'd ya get the jacket from?” a man with maniac eyes and a rough face asks, his voice almost growling.

“Someone gave it to me.” Todd gasps out. 

“Someone, eh? What’d they look like?” Todd pauses for a second. If these guys hate Dirk like they seem to, then he doesn’t want them to know he knows him. 

“Uh, he w-was short, black hair, grey eyes.” Todd lies, trying to find some purchase on the wall behind him. After months of malnourishment, his strength is all but gone, and he has no way to fight back against the tall man in front of him.

“You sure about that?” The man asks, his voice lowering to a menacing whisper, as he leans in close enough for Todd to smell his breath.

“Y-yes.” Todd stammers. Now is not the time to have an anxiety attack, not at all. Todd holds his breath and closes his eyes, trying to suppress the panic flowing through him. A fourth person appears in the entrance to the alley.

“Cross,” says a rough voice, and the man pinning him to the wall immediately lets him go, making Todd hit the back of his head off the wall as he falls to the ground. The man who pinned him gives him one last scathing look before leaving the alley, the other three join him. The heavy boot steps fade into the distance, leaving behind a broken man and an even more broken guitar. Todd curls into himself again, trying his best to block out the world around him as tears begin to leak from his eyes. He lays completely still, his tears silent. He lays there until his breathing slow back to normal, before unfurling from the fetal position. Todd army crawls over to assess the damage to his guitar, his head throbbing from the earlier impact. He lifts up the guitar by its neck, and the wood cracks off with a loud splintering sound. He that yes, it is extremely broken, and that there is no way in hell he’ll be able to fix it. He lets out a soft sob, partially from what had just happened to him and partially from the pain of knowing that without his guitar there would be no food, no change thrown to him. He was alone and helpless, and he needed to get away.


	3. Bandaged Wrists and Taxi Drivers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirk finds Todd back in his alley, and knows something is wrong.

Dirk hummed lightly as he made his way along the street. In his hand were two styrofoam cups and in the other was a bag, which contained a sandwich he sincerely hoped Todd would like. As he approached the familiar alley something didn’t seem quite right. Instead of the silhouette of a person and a guitar, there were just two lumps on the ground.

Dirk quickened his pace and was relieved to find that one of the lumps was indeed Todd. The other seemed to be a pile of wooden bits, as well as a discarded yellow jacket. He immediately took back his relief as he saw the red outline of blood around him. Drik dropped what he was holding and rushed over, carefully turning Todd over. Immediately Dirk saw that the blood was Todd’s and that there was rather a lot of it. He checked his heartbeat. “Thank god.” He began to dial the ER before he remembered that the hospital wouldn’t take a homeless man. With that Dirk knew he would have to take matters into his own hands. He searched for the wound and at first thought, it was his head that was bleeding since there was a small cut there, but further inspection lead him to find long, deep cuts along Todd’s wrists. Dirk was bewildered, but he didn’t have time for shock. Ripping a piece from his shirt and began wrapping it around Todd’s wrists. The messy wrappings weren’t much but they’d have to do until he could get Todd home. He went out onto the street and called a taxi over. He went back for Todd struggling slightly even with the skinny man’s weight. He snags his jacket on the way by. As he made it out onto the street and was about to help him into the car-

“He can’t come in here.” The taxi driver grumbled from the front seat, disgust apparent in his voice. Dirk couldn’t help but feel tight resentment for the man curl up in his gut.

“I’ll pay you double.” Drik insisted. The man nodded, his expression changing from one of disgruntled annoyance to pleasant calm.

“Where to?” The man asked, voice now lighter. Dirk cursed how shallow people were while also being thankful he could bribe the man. He managed to get both himself and Todd onto the cab, albeit not so gracefully.

“The apartment building on Gulliver, please.”

The drive was short and Dirk kept his promise, forking over twice what the cab cost. He lugged Todd and himself out of the cab and onto the sidewalk, holding Todd up with both arms. The driver counted the cash and sped off, never looking back at the two, never offering help. Dirk managed to shift and put an arm under Todd’s knees to lift him up, carrying him bridal style into the building and up the stairs. Dirk struggled for a moment with the door before he could get it open, and once he did he rushed inside and set Todd down gently on the sofa. He checked his heartbeat again. It was quiet but solid and Dirk let out a sigh before going to get his first aid kit. Not exactly being a medical professional, he did his best to disinfect and wrap the wounds. He sat down beside the couch and pulled out his phone. He typed ‘how to help someone with blood loss’ into the search bar. It seemed, other than feeding Todd high iron content foods, that he'd done well. Dirk sighed loudly and leaned against the couch, watching Todd’s chest rise and fall at a steady rhythm. Now that they were in a properly lit room and not a shadowy alley, Dirk could make out each of Todd features perfectly. His light brown hair, grey with dirt, his sharp jawline and bushy eyebrows. He ran his fingers gently along the bandage. Todd made a small whimpering sound in his sleep, shifting slightly. ‘What did you do?’ Dirk thought, worried for the man on his couch. He’d seemed so much more stable yesterday. Hurt? Yes. But stable. Dirk hadn't thought something like this would happen. If he had, he would have made him come with him, or go to the shelter, something. He would’ve done something. Todd makes another whimpering sound and reaches over to pull at his bandages. Dirk takes the hand holds it lightly, preventing but not harming. Dirk swears he sees Todd smile in his sleep. ‘Oh, Todd.’ Dirk lays his head down on the couch. He watches Todd's breathing as his eyelids begin to droop. Down, down, down...


	4. Hugs and Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't really planned past this point so it might be a while til the next update. Either way, enjoy :)

Todd opens his eyes a crack and finds that wherever he was, it was much too bright. His alley, at any time of day, provided shade from the high walls of the buildings on either side. This is not shade. He opens his eyes the rest of the way and doesn’t see the sky above him, but a ceiling. This was bad. He slows his breath and looks around, now aware of the dull pain he feels in his forearms. He remembers what happened now, his guitar, the men. Then, after that, a sharp blade and blood as he dug into his own flesh, in his own words, he’d gotten away. That, however, doesn’t explain where he is. He could be dead, but of course, Todd is never that lucky. He looks down and sees a head of auburn hair, accompanied by a hand, which is laying in his own. Todd’s mind begins working on overdrive. Who? Where? Why? The head shifts and a familiar face looks up at him with sleepy eyes. “Good to see you awake.” The sunshine man smiled, sitting up and yawning loudly. He must’ve kidnapped him, that was it. 

“Where am I?” Todd asks, voice quivering and panicked. 

“Oh, yeah, sorry. This is my apartment. I, uh, brought you here when…” dirk gestures to the bandages wrapped around Todd's forearms. Is he saying he found him bleeding out and his first reaction is to take him to his apartment? There were clinics he could have gone to. More than a few places that take homeless people. Maybe Dirk doesn’t know about them. As fast as Todd’s brain is working, all he says is:

“Oh.” Dirk eyes him warily. 

“You okay?” he asks, looking concerned. Half of Todd’s mind is telling him to run away, get out of this house and go, while the other is telling him to stay and accept Dirk’s help. His head feels light, and his throat is dry like sandpaper.

“Water?” he asks gruffly, hoping the point gets across. It does. 

Yes, definitely, I’ll be right back.” Dirk disappears into the next room, and Todd tries not to make too much noise as he pushes himself into a sitting position. Moments later dirk is back, carefully pressing a glass of water into Todd’s shaking hand. “You should eat something, will all the blood you lost…” Dirk leaves again and comes back with a muffin. 

“Thanks.” Dirk sits down on the floor again, watching Todd as he unashamedly chugs the water. 

“Are you okay?” Dirk asks again. Todd huffs lightly and takes a bite of the muffin. “You know what I mean.” 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Better than I was anyway.” Dirk gives him a look like he wants to ask something, but ultimately just sinks down to rest his head on his arm.

“Don’t bother asking what happened. We both know what I did.” Todd looks down, keeping his eyes on his food. He feels ashamed.

“That’s not what I was going to ask,” Dirk tells him, placing a comforting hand on his knee.

“What was it, then?” Todd glances up to meet Dirk’s gaze and immediately looks back down.

“I was going to ask why.”

“I... I don't know.” He doesn’t look up, but he feels the couch shift as Dirk comes to sit on the edge.

“Please, Todd you can tell me.” 

“It's really stupid.”

“I’m sure it's not.”

“I… well they… there were some men that showed up last night. And nothing really bad happened, but…” todd looks up to meet Dirk's eyes and finds worry there. “They smashed my guitar, and y’know it was all I had left so…” he expects stiffed laughter, maybe just an amused huff, but hears nothing of the sort. Dirk just stares at him for a moment, searching, be for healers down and wraps him in a hug. Which, out of all things, almost makes him burst into tears right then. He wraps his arms around dirk and holds tight, not willing to let go or let the other leave. They stay like this for what must be almost an hour, before dirk finally speaks up.

“I should check your bandages.” he murmurs into Todd's arm. Todd doesn't want to let go, but he does. Dirk sits up and pulls one of Todd's arms into his lap. He carefully unwraps the bandage and examines Todd’s arm. “It doesn't look infected, and the bleeding’s stopped, but I might as well change it now.” Dirk reaches under the couch and pulls out the first aid, which had been pushed there when Dirk first bandaged him. He holds Todd’s arm lightly and begins wrapping it, being more careful and neat this time. Todd winces slightly at some points but makes no other complaint. He watches as Dirk works, watching his careful hands and focused eyes. It’s only when Dirk sets his arm down that he looks away. Dirk reaches for his other arm and does the same, this Ike slightly faster as he's figured out how to wrap it. Todd runs his fingers over the bandage lightly, feeling the overlaps in the fabric. It's then that he realizes that he hasn't thanked Dirk for any of this.

“Thanks,” he mumbles, and he sees Dirk smile widely. 

“The pleasure’s all mine.” Dirk means it. Todd has never met anyone in his entire life that was so genuinely happy and kind. He had a feeling there was something else to it, but he didn’t want there to be. He wanted Dirk to be happy, but he also wanted Dirk to be his genuine self with him. It’s then that his mind goes to the man in the alley, the one who had recognized Dirk’s jacket. For now, though. He just wants to lay here, and stare at Dirk, and pretend that there was nothing else. “I should go get you some proper food. For your iron and such.”

“Okay.” Dirk gets up and heads over to the kitchen, leaving Todd feeling rather alone and doubtful. He takes a deep breath and does his best to sit up, making sure not to touch his forearms on the couch. Dirk appears in the doorway. 

“Do you want some tea? Coffee, maybe?”

“Coffee, please.” When was the last time Todd said please? Probably when he was begging before he’d been with the band.

“How do you take it?” Comes Dirk’s voice from the kitchen.

“Just black, please.”

“Really? I can't stand the usual amount bitterness, much less without any sugar…” ‘British people’ Todd smirks to himself.


	5. Wonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirk has a secret, but does he have the gall to tell Todd what it is?

“Hey, Todd, if you want you can use my shower, just try not to get you bandages wet.” Todd considers the words. From any other person he would suspect that they were implying that he should shower for their sake, but from Dirk, it seems like a genuine offer. It's been awhile since Todd had a shower, a real shower, that is. 

“Sure.” He replies, pulling himself off the couch with a grunt. His head and arms still hurt, but the light headed swimming feeling is gone, so he can stand and walk properly without holding onto the furniture. Todd makes his way out of the living room in the direction of the bathroom. The bathroom is small and simple, but for Todd, it feels as if he's standing in a massive furnished lavatory since he’s only had corner store bathrooms to use for a while. He turns on the water and climbs in, smiling to himself at the feeling of weeks if not months of grime and dirt finally being washed away. He uses the soap, real soap, and he finds it’s one of the best feelings he’s had in a long time. He stays there and lets the water wash over him, that is until there’s a knock. 

“Hey, uh, I brought some clothes? So I can wash your if you like.” Todd takes that as his queue to get out of the shower. He wraps a fluffy towel around his waist and opens the door. Dirk isn’t looking at him, and for good reason. Todd realizes his own embarrassment and takes the clothes from Dirk before closing the door. Todd unfolds the clothes and finds a pair of pink boxer shorts and a very large tee shirt with a bunny on the front. Normally he would question people who had this sort of taste, all pastel and odd, but Todd was being given clothes, so he definitely couldn't complain. He slips the clothes on and opens the bathroom door to find a pair of matching bunny slippers set out for him. He snorts. ‘Now he's really fucking with me.’ aTodd can't help but think. 

“Hey, Dirk? Where do you want my dirty stuff? He asks because it is really a shame to leave his grimy clothes on the bath mat.

“Just there is fine, I’ll get them in a bit when I go to do a load,” Dirk calls from the living room. Todd lets out a small huff and walks out into the living room. “Sorry I didn’t have much else, I’m sadly quite lazy so most everything else I own is in the laundry bin.” ‘oh.’Todd takes a seat on the couch beside Dirk. Dirk mumbles something, his brows furrowed in frustration.

“What was that?”Todd asks.

“What? Oh, nothing.” Todd rolls his eyes, huffing out a breath of air. He can feel Dirk staring. Usually, he would have a problem with someone keeping something from him, but it was Dirk, so he assumed it really had been nothing. Dirk seems slightly ruffed and embraced, so Todd reaches over to place a hand on his shoulder.

“Whatever it was, I'm sure it's fine, Dirk. I would like it if you told me, but you don't have to.” Dirk look up at him, his expression torn. He places his own hand over Todd’s.

“I want to, though, I just think you'll dislike me after, maybe even go back onto the streets and do who knows what.” Now that, that's worrying. Todd wants to trust Dirk, he really does, but if he’s that worried, well, what is he supposed to think?

“Listen, dirk. I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to leave. This is by far one of the best things that have happened to me and I won't just throw that away.” Todd reassures him, squeezing his shoulder lightly. Dirk manages a sad smile, a somewhat dark contrast compared to his usual sunny expression.

“Really?” Dirk doesn’t seem convinced. Todd thinks that perhaps Dirk has some trust issues too.

“Yeah, I'm not going anywhere.” Dirk looks at Todd, contemplating. He seems less wary for sure, but he still seems to be thinking about something. Without warning, he pulls Todd in for a hug, and he’s sure that this time it’s more for Dirk’s benefit than Todd’s, but he doesn’t mind. Dirk pulls away quickly, looking hurt somehow.

“Ill, uh, tell you later. More time to think.” Dirk mumbles, getting up from the couch and leaving swiftly through the doorway to the hall. Todd sits alone and wonders what it is Dirk needs to tell him.

“Okay.” He whispers, knowing full well that Dirk can't hear him.


	6. Washing up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todd enjoys the mundane, despite it being laced with doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been gone for a while. Gonna try to keep up with this more :)

Todd sits up slowly and rubs his eyes. He hadn't realized he’d fallen asleep. He also hadn’t realized that Dirk had draped a blanket over him, apparently. Todd smiles to himself, look around the sunlight bathed room. It seems so surreal to him, sitting in a warm room on a comfortable couch with sunlight filtering in through the window. It feels safe, warm, something that Todd hasn’t felt in a long time. He revels in it. He closes his eyes again, sitting back to enjoy the feeling. He sighs. He sniffs. “What's that smell?” He asks, loud enough that Dirk hears him from the other room. 

“It's chili!” Dirk calls. Todd practically feels his mouth start to water. Chili. Yet another thing he hasn’t had since he was a kid. He gets up from the couch and makes his way into the kitchen, breathing deeper than is perhaps necessary. When he enters the kitchen and sees Dirk wearing an apron and covered in various spices, he snorts. 

“What happened?”

“Long story, but hey! I think I got a good bit of it into the pot!”

“Right.” Dirk let out a quiet huff and smiled. 

“If you go sit, I'll bring you some in a minute.” 

“Thanks.” Todd makes his way back into the living room, stumbling over and end table he didn't see. He takes a seat and runs his fingers along the fibers of the couch, running patterns along its surface. Todd sits on the couch with his eyes half open, not really looking as he stares blankly at the wall opposite him. Sometimes, when he's bored or alone, he'll stare really hard at something, just to see if he can make it move. Everyone has tested to see if they have super powers at least once, but Todd has a lot of spare time, so he tries it maybe once every few months. He hears a clanking behind him and turns to see Dirk coming toward him carrying two bowls, two glasses, a packet of crackers, and a packet of cheese. Drik wobbles a moment, almost spilling the drinks, and that’s all Todd needs to motivate him to get up. “It’s fine, Todd, sit down. I can carry a few bowls!”

“Maybe, but you’re carrying more than a few bowls.” He takes both the drinks and the cheese of him, setting them down on the table. Dirk manages the rest without spilling hot chili everywhere, and soon they’re both sitting on the couch with their food in front of them. Dirk proceeds to take it upon himself to prepare both of their food, crushing crackers and putting cheese in both before handing Todd his bowl. Todd takes a deep breath before taking a bite. “Thanks, Dirk, this is really good.”

“You’re thanking me now, but there's still the washing up to do.”

\---

Dishes clink quietly as they stand by the sink, both quiet as the wash the dishes. Dirk is wrist deep in suds, as he insisted, while Todd is rinsing and drying. Dirk finds the task rather mundane and boring, whereas Todd is reveling in the normality of it all. As they work, the sound of clinking is joined by a quiet hum. A melody Dirk doesn’t know. The hum stays quiet, just barely audible, and Dirk is reminded that Todd was a street performer before now, likely singing while he strummed his guitar. His guitar. Dirk had nearly forgotten about the pile of splintered wood that he found when he picked up Todd. He hadn’t thought much about it with how preoccupied he was. He would have to make that up to him after he told him it was his fault of course. That was if he could handle telling him. While Dirk was thinking the hum had grown louder, and out of instinct he turned to Todd. “You have a nice voice.” He hadn’t meant to say it, but hey, true was true. 

Todd stopped humming and looked down, his face tinged red. “Uh, thanks.” There’s a heavy silence for a few moments.

“Did you sing while you were on the streets?”

“Not really. Mostly it was my guitar… the singing is just from a song I wrote.” That was true, Todd had mostly played folk songs on the corner of busy streets, hoping to get a dollar or two from a passer-by. Usually, though, all he got were disgusted looks. Sometimes he wondered if he was really bad at playing the guitar. He’d like to think he wasn’t since it seemed to be all he was good at.

“You wrote a song?” The Song. Oh, God, The Song. Todd had written that song after he’d met Dirk. Hell, The Song was about Dirk. But he didn't need to know that.

“Yeah… rather recently.”

“Well, I’d love to hear it sometime if you’re willing.” Todd was extremely willing. More willing than he should have been. He didn’t want to show him but he sure as hell wanted Dirk to hear it. 

“Uh, alright.” The conversation fades back into the sound of clinking plates and quiet humming. Dirk glances over and smiles at him, eyes twinkling. Despite his doubts, despite his problems, Todd smiles back.


End file.
